Author: Serkadis

Tim Lui has joined SB China Venture Capital as a managing partner. He previously was executive vice president of Tongfang Co. Ltd., and general manager of its digital media group. www.sbcvc.com

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Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT) has acquired the assets of Advent Solar Inc., an Albuquerque, N.M.-based maker of solar cells and modules. No financial terms were disclosed. Advent Solar had raised around $114 million in VC funding, from firms like @Ventures, Battery Ventures, EnerTech Capital, Firelake Capital,, Globespan Capital Partners, New Mexico Co-Investment Partners, Sun Mountain Capital and ZBI Ventures.

PRESS RELEASE

Applied Materials, Inc., the leading supplier of equipment and services to the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry, announced today that it has acquired substantially all the assets, including the intellectual property, of Advent Solar, Inc. for an undisclosed cash amount. Advent Solar is a developer of advanced technology for crystalline silicon (c-Si) PVs. This acquisition is expected to complement Applied’s portfolio of solar PV technologies and enhance its leadership in the c-Si equipment market.

Advent Solar has pioneered several innovations for producing c-Si cells and modules, including technology for streamlining module assembly processes and advanced efficiency device architectures. The company, founded in 2002, is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“We believe the acquisition of Advent Solar will increase our opportunities to provide innovative solutions for reducing module production costs,” said Dr. Mark Pinto, chief technology officer and general manager of Applied’s Energy and Environmental Solutions Group. “Combining Advent Solar’s PV technology with Applied’s expertise in automated wafering and cell production equipment, we expect to deliver systems that will enhance customers’ c-Si roadmaps and accelerate the reduction in cost per watt of solar electricity.”

After the close of this transaction, Advent Solar’s assets will be integrated with Applied’s Energy and Environmental Solutions Group.

Safe Harbor Statement. This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the acquisition of assets of Advent Solar and expected benefits of the transaction. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied, including but not limited to: (a) the successful integration and performance of the acquired business; (b) demand for PV products, which is subject to many factors, including uncertain global market conditions, government renewable energy policies and incentives, cost in relation to other energy sources, and technology innovations; (c) Applied’s ability to (i) develop, deliver and support a broad range of products and expand its markets, (ii) obtain and protect intellectual property rights in key technologies, (iii) manage its supply chain and production capability, and (iv) recruit and retain key employees; and (d) other risks described in Applied’s SEC filings. All forward-looking statements are based on management’s estimates, projections and assumptions as of the date hereof and Applied undertakes no obligation to update any such statements.

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) is the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology™ solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass. At Applied Materials, we apply Nanomanufacturing Technology to improve the way people live. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.

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Biomet Inc. has acquired Cartilix Inc., a Foster City, Calif.-based developer of biomaterials to repair damaged tissues in articular joints. No financial terms were disclosed. Cartilix had raised $6.5 million in Series A funding led by De Novo Ventures.

PRESS RELEASE

Biomet, Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of orthopedic and dental medical devices, announced today its acquisition of the assets of Cartilix, a Foster City, CA based company that has developed proprietary cartilage repair technology.

Cartilix was founded in 2004 to develop cartilage repair and regeneration solutions. The company developed ChonDux™, a proprietary cartilage regeneration technology for repair of knee cartilage. ChonDux™ technology uses a biological adhesive and hydrogel to fill articular cartilage lesions.

ChonDux™ technology is not yet commercially available. Clinical trials are scheduled to begin in Europe during the first half of 2010 with a U.S. clinical trial anticipated to follow thereafter.

Jeff Binder, Biomet President and CEO, stated: “We believe that Cartilix’s technology platform is a great fit for Biomet’s continuum of solutions for knee disorders. Biomet has a rapidly-growing sports medicine franchise, the world’s leading partial knee replacement system, and the most comprehensive total knee replacement system on the market, allowing us to provide a broad spectrum of solutions for varying degrees of knee disorders. The Cartilix technology provides Biomet with an opportunity to facilitate earlier intervention in pre-arthritic patients.”

About Biomet

Biomet, Inc. and its subsidiaries design, manufacture and market products used primarily by musculoskeletal medical specialists in both surgical and non‐surgical therapy. Biomet’s product portfolio encompasses reconstructive products, including orthopedic joint replacement devices, bone cements and accessories, autologous therapies and dental reconstructive implants; fixation products, including electrical bone growth stimulators, internal and external orthopedic fixation devices, craniomaxillofacial implants and bone substitute materials; spinal products, including spinal stimulation devices, spinal hardware and orthobiologics; and other products, such as arthroscopy products and softgoods and bracing products. Headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana, Biomet and its subsidiaries currently distribute products in approximately 90 countries.

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When news spread about GameStop breaking the street date on Modern Warfare 2, Chris Oliviera, the retailer’s vp for corporate communications in Texa…

The Quercus Trust has completed its acquisition of Applied Solar Inc., a maker of building-integrated photovoltaics that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. 

PRESS RELEASE

Applied Solar, Inc. (debtor-in-possession) (OTC Bulletin Board: APSO) (”we” or the “Company”) announced today that it has closed the previously-announced sale of its assets and operations to Quercus APSO, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Quercus Trust. Quercus APSO, LLC intends to change its name and conduct business as Applied Solar, LLC.

With the consummation of the transaction, Applied Solar, LLC will have the benefit of a much stronger balance sheet and little or no long-term debt.

David Field, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased to announce the completion of this transaction, and look forward to continuing our efforts to develop new BIPV products, including an anticipated 2010 introduction of a product that will integrate with asphalt shingle roofing tiles, which represent approximately 80% of the U.S. residential roofing market. At the same time, we intend to further build upon our key strategic industry relationships that have enabled us to significantly penetrate the residential BIPV market and will soon lead our products into the European marketplace.” Mr. Field will continue in the same role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Solar, LLC.

About The Quercus Trust

Based in Newport Beach, California, The Quercus Trust is recognized as one of the North America’s leading clean-tech venture funds, with strategic investments in the clean technology areas of solar, water, bio-fuels, wind and batteries. The Quercus Trust is known to provide more value than funding alone, and takes a long-term view of invested capital, leveraging its industry expertise and relationships for the benefit of its portfolio companies.

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Amdocs (NYSE: DOX) has acquired jNetX, a Dallas-based provider of service delivery platforms. The deal was valued at $50 million, net of cash and debt. jNetx had raised a small amount of VC funding from Mint Capital.

PRESS RELEASE

Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), the leading provider of customer experience systems, today has announced the acquisition of jNetX, a privately-held service delivery platform (SDP) provider, for $50 million net of debt and cash, subject to post closing adjustments. This acquisition accelerates Amdocs’ position in the SDP market by combining jNetX’s industry leading offering with Amdocs’ existing customer experience solutions and service delivery capabilities. For perspective, the SDP market is estimated to grow at a 14% CAGR to $6 billion by 2013 according to a leading industry analyst firm. (Analysys Mason, August 2009).

Today, service providers are seeking to transition their businesses from predominantly subscription-based access services to include rich content, applications, and other next-generation offerings. The combination of Amdocs and jNetX products will allow service providers to expose both telecom and IP components in the network to offer convergent network, IT and web based services to all of their customers. This approach will benefit customers by enabling faster time-to-market and the monetization of next-generation services, and will differentiate Amdocs from most other SDP vendors, who support next generation services solely on IP-based networks.

“jNetX is a true innovator and has taken a different technical approach with its Java-enabled convergent service platform. This approach has provided greater value to service providers and helped jNetX achieve a strong position in the SDP marketplace,” said Jim Liang, senior vice president strategy and corporate development for Amdocs. “Today’s acquisition accelerates that value by not only offering a unique technological combination but by wrapping that technology with Amdocs’ deep industry knowledge and leading consulting and delivery capabilities.”

The combination also provides strategic enhancements to the Amdocs CES Portfolio as it:
Enhances Amdocs’ convergent charging offering by providing scalable and robust service control and service brokering capabilities

Delivers closer integration with the Amdocs App Store to expose network services to developers

Provides a holistic service delivery framework that enables a quicker launch time for new services
“One of the biggest challenges with this new, rapid service delivery model has been to ensure that services can be efficiently provisioned and properly monetized through real-time charging mechanisms, said Gary Miles, CEO of jNetX. “By incorporating the jNetX carrier-class service platform into the CES suite, Amdocs extends its market leading offering providing a consolidated OSS, BSS and SDP solution for consistent service creation, management, delivery, charging and customer care.”

In addition to the product synergies, Amdocs and jNetX share a number of top tier customers, including Vodafone Group, British Telecom and Mobilkom. The combination will benefit customers as they seek to enhance the customer experience and become an active participant in the emerging Telco-Web eco-system.

Amdocs does not expect a material impact from the acquisition of jNetX on fiscal year 2010 non-GAAP earnings per share, which excludes acquisition related costs and equity-based compensation expense, net of related tax effects. The impact on GAAP results will be finalized after Amdocs completes the purchase price accounting for the acquisition.

About Amdocs
Amdocs is the market leader in customer experience systems innovation, enabling world-leading service providers to deliver an integrated, innovative and intentional customer experienceTM at every point of service. Amdocs provides solutions that deliver customer experience excellence, combining the software, services and expertise to help its customers execute their strategies and achieve service, operational and financial excellence. A global company with revenue of $3.16 billion in fiscal 2008, Amdocs has approximately 17,000 employees and serves customers in more than 50 countries around the world. For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.

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Medstop, a Swedish pharmacy company backed by private equity firm Segulah, has acquired three Swedish pharmacy clusters from Apoteket AB. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

Medstop, a company whose main owner is Segulah IV L.P. (”Segulah”), has signed an agreement with Apoteket AB to acquire three pharmacy clusters (clusters 3, 4 and 5) with combined forecasted revenues for 2009 of MSEK 3,100. As soon as necessary permits have been obtained and other conditions to take possession are fulfilled, Medstop will operate 62 pharmacies in the regions of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmoe.

The takeover is planned to take place in January 2010 through the acquisition of three public limited liability companies that hold the 62 pharmacies.

Medstop’s CEO Fredrik Söderberg, comments: ”We are very pleased to have the opportunity of becoming a new player on the Swedish retail pharmacy market and are humbled in front of the task. We look forward to actively contribute to developing the Swedish retail pharmacy market after the de-regulation. In modern retail pharmacies, which are open when customers want to shop, our competent employees will sell and provide advice on medicine in a way that the Swedish pharmacy customers recognise.”

Peter Elving, Chairman of the Board for Medstop, comments: “Medstop together with Segulah will first of all make sure that the takeover of the 62 pharmacies is carried out in a safe and orderly fashion for customers and employees. Then the objective is to develop a modern chain of pharmacies that will become the customers’ first choice in the market.”

”Medstop is well suited to handle the opportunities and challenges of a deregulated pharmacy market. Segulah is very much looking forward to supporting Medstop and its management in this process as a committed and active owner”, says Percy Calissendorff, partner at Segulah Advisor AB.

About Medstop

Medstop’s ambition is to establish a strong and credible position in the Swedish pharmacy market. Medstop is characterised by a strong entrepreneurial spirit combined with a solid experience of the pharmacy and consumer retail sectors. Medstop’s central organisation currently includes a number of individuals who have held senior positions within Apoteket AB and other major Swedish retail chains. The nearly 1 000 pharmacists and other employees at the 62 pharmacies are highly qualified and experienced. www.medstop.se About Segulah Segulah is a private equity firm focused on mid-market buy-out investments in the Nordic region. The investment model is based on majority ownership and an active commitment of advisors who have industry sector expertise. Segulah Advisor AB is the exclusive investment advisor to the funds Segulah II L.P. (MSEK 850), Segulah III L.P. (MSEK 2,350) and Segulah IV L.P. (MSEK 5,200). www.segulah.se

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Lime Rock Partners has invested $25 million in Expert Petroleum SA, a Romanian rehabilitator of mature oil and gas fields.

PRESS RELEASE
Expert Petroleum SRL, a Romania-based oil and gas company focused on the rehabilitation of mature oil and gas fields, today announces that Lime Rock Partners, a global energy-focused private equity firm, has agreed to invest US$25 million in the company. Part of the Jordan-based NT&S Energy group, Expert has acquired eight mature field licenses in Romania and is applying leading-edge field redevelopment and rehabilitation technology to those licenses to restart oil and gas production. The US$25 million staged equity investment from Lime Rock Partners will fund further appraisal, workover, and drilling activities on Expert’s assets. The Lime Rock and Expert teams continue to work together to identify other investment opportunities, including accelerating development of Expert’s current licenses, acquiring new production licenses, and forming innovative partnerships with leading regional oil and gas producers to jointly rehabilitate and redevelop mature oil and gas fields.

David Martinon, Founding Partner and Managing Director of Expert, said, “This is a very important day in the history of our company. For the last five years, we have carefully assembled and conducted in-depth technical analysis and appraisal activities on our oil and gas properties in Romania, fields that are well suited to our strengths in mature asset rehabilitation. The capital from Lime Rock will fund our future development costs. More importantly, the partnership with the Lime Rock team has already begun to help us form and implement our broader strategic vision to make Expert one of the leading independent oil and gas companies focused on mature asset rehabilitation and redevelopment.”

Expert was founded by Mr. Martinon and Michel Louboutin, Founding Partner and General Manager of the company, who built a highly skilled management team that complemented their experience in mature asset rehabilitation as managers at Schlumberger. The team’s experience includes international and Romanian project management at ConocoPhillips, Weatherford, Petrom, Romgaz, and other companies. Expert is currently developing eight licenses focused on the Carpathian Basin, Transylvanian Basin, and Moesian Platform. Almost all of Expert’s projects are of fields that had previously produced oil or gas. The company is combining the latest technology, such as 3D seismic, to develop new reservoir and commercial models and solid operational skills to allow for successful redevelopment of its current licenses and increased domestic production of oil and gas in Romania. Expert is also in discussions with independent oil and gas producers, national oil companies, and others for additional joint venture projects and field license acquisitions.

Lime Rock manages US$3.9 billion of capital for investment in the energy industry. From offices in Dubai, UAE; Houston, Texas; Aberdeen, Scotland; and Westport, Connecticut, the Lime Rock Partners team invests growth capital in exploration and production, energy service, and oil service technology companies worldwide. Lime Rock’s initial US$25 million commitment to Expert will be phased in over the next two years as needed, and Lime Rock will potentially invest more in the company depending on Expert’s ability to capture opportunities to accelerate its value creation and growth. The Lime Rock Partners investment in Expert is the firm’s sixtieth investment in a global energy company since its formation and the first to be executed from the firm’s Dubai office, which is led by longstanding Lime Rock veterans Saad Bargach and Rob Willings.

Mr. Bargach, a Managing Director of Lime Rock Partners, noted, “For our entire history, Lime Rock has invested with great entrepreneurs targeting smaller and mature oil and gas fields. David and Michel are the latest chapter in this strategy. But they have assembled more than just an exciting asset base in Romania. They have assembled a team bringing tremendous technical skills to fields with considerable potential left. And they have established a long-term growth strategy to establish a nimble but substantial independent producer. We at Lime Rock are thrilled to partner with Expert to deploy this initial capital and potentially significantly more.”

Lime Rock Partners was represented in the transaction by Vinson & Elkins LLP out of its Dubai office. Expert Petroleum was advised by The Sanad Law Group in Jordan and Varinia Radu in Romania.

About Expert Petroleum

With regional offices in Romania for Central and Eastern Europe and in Jordan for the Middle East and North Africa, Expert Petroleum is an innovative upstream oil and gas company that redevelops and rehabilitates mature oil and gas fields through direct license ownership or in partnership with companies in need of personnel, expertise, or capital. The Expert team combines extensive experience in Romania with international experience at some of the most successful field redevelopment and rehabilitation projects in Venezuela, Norway, and elsewhere. Expert was founded as part of the NT&S Energy, a holding company of a group of specialized international oil and gas companies with operations in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and North America. For more information, please see www.expertpetroleum.com.

About Lime Rock Partners

Established in 1998, Lime Rock manages US$3.9 billion of private capital for investment in the energy industry through Lime Rock Partners, investors of growth capital in energy companies worldwide, and Lime Rock Resources, acquirers and operators of oil and gas properties in the United States. With US$3.0 billion under management, Lime Rock Partners is a creative, value-adding, and long-term investor of growth capital in exploration and production, energy service, and oil service technology companies worldwide. From four locations worldwide, the Lime Rock Partners team brings together a global network of relationships, deep interdisciplinary expertise in finance and energy company operations, and a strong track record of value creation. For more information, please visit www.lrpartners.com.

Lime Rock Partners

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Tethys Bioscience, an Emeryville, Calif.-based developer of multi-biomarker technology, has raised $25 million in Series D funding. Capital AG led the round, and was joined by Wasatch Advisors and return backers Mohr Davidow Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Intel Capital. It had previously raised around $54 million.

PRESS RELEASE

Tethys Bioscience, a privately held company, announced today that it has closed a $25 million Series D round of financing led by aeris CAPITAL AG and including Wasatch Advisors as a new investor. All current investors, including MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and Intel Capital participated in the round. Tethys also announced that it has appointed George Rehm, Managing Partner of aeris CAPITAL, to the Tethys Board of Directors.

Proceeds from the financing will be used to expand commercialization of the Company’s proprietary PreDx™ Diabetes Risk Score (DRS) product, a simple-to-administer blood test to help clinicians identify those patients at highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes within the next five years.

“These funds will enable Tethys to respond to rapidly increasing customer demand for the PreDx DRS from the large primary care physician market and to broaden our reach to these clinicians through new commercialization strategies,” said Mickey Urdea, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Tethys. “To enhance the clinician’s experience and effectiveness with the PreDx DRS, we are also developing a diabetes risk-reduction initiative, which will help them to educate their high-risk patients about critical lifestyle and behavioral changes that may help prevent the development of diabetes.”

The PreDx DRS is a blood test performed by the Tethys Clinical Laboratory that provides enhanced diabetes risk assessment through the measurement of multiple biomarkers implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes. Test results are presented in the form of a Diabetes Risk Score: a number ranging from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) which directly correlates with a patient’s risk of developing the disease within the next 5 years.

“Tethys is breaking new ground in the diabetes field with the PreDx DRS, which will help clinicians to identify patients at severe risk of becoming diabetic, and who are most likely to benefit from focused intervention and disease prevention management,” said George Rehm, Managing Partner of aeris CAPITAL AG and member of the Tethys Board of Directors. “The Company’s technology has broad utility in multiple chronic disease areas where early identification and disease prevention programs have the potential to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.”

While diabetes has no cure, clinical studies have shown that it can be prevented, and determining one’s diabetes risk is the first step in avoiding this chronic, life-threatening disease. Clinical studies have shown that aggressive intervention with diet and exercise alone can reduce the incidence of diabetes by up to 60%. With the PreDx Diabetes Risk Score, clinicians can identify those individuals with the greatest 5-year risk of diabetes conversion so they can receive appropriate diabetes prevention regimens.

George M. Rehm is a Managing Partner of aeris CAPITAL AG in Switzerland and has over twenty five years experience as a lawyer and executive in international licensing, technology transfer, investment and privatization transactions, involving the US, Europe and Asia, prior to commencing his current career in private equity. Currently, he holds board seats in numerous portfolio companies. Mr. Rehm remains of counsel to the Munich, Heidelberg and Berlin law firm of Weitnauer Partners. He received his BSFS from Georgetown University, and a JD from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

About Tethys

Tethys Bioscience is a privately held company developing novel tests that address the growing global healthcare challenge of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. Founded in 2005, the Company integrates an experienced management team, innovative research based on sound science, a CLIA-certified clinical laboratory, and a commercialization team with extensive experience in diagnostic innovation. The PreDx Diabetes Risk Score is the Company’s lead commercial product, which is helping physicians to predict and prevent type 2 diabetes. For more information, please visit www.tethysbio.com.

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Two mornings after, the headlines are still focused on the landmark House passage of the Democratic-backed health overhaul bill and what might happen next… in the Senate.

Democrats Confront Challenges After House Reform Vote
Kaiser Health News staff writers Eric Pianin and Mary Agnes Carey report on what lies ahead on the current health reform landscape. “Now comes the really hard part. After a brief celebration of House passage of landmark health legislation, House and Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama face weeks, if not months, of difficult negotiations in constructing a final package that will win congressional approval” (11/8).

House Vote: Reviews Are In
Health policy experts hold different views on Saturday’s House overhaul vote. Kaiser Health News collected some of their responses (11/8).

The Debate Over Selling Insurance Across State Lines
Kaiser Health News staff writer Phil Galewitz reports on this element of GOP-backed health reforms. “A core feature of the health overhaul proposal unveiled by House Republicans – and of GOP plans for years – would allow individual health insurance policies to be sold across state lines. Currently, consumers can buy policies only from insurers licensed by the states where they live” (11/8).

House Hands Health Care Challenge Off To Senate
Democrats have little time to savor the narrow passage of their historic heath care overhaul in the House of Representatives as attention turns to the deeply divided U.S. Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid’s challenge is to corral enough votes to bring a companion bill to the floor of his chamber before a White House-imposed Christmas deadline (NPR, 11/8).

The Medical Industry Grumbles, But It Stands To Gain
For any industry, there has to be at least some good news any time Congress votes to expand the market by tens of millions of customers. But the business world found plenty to complain about Sunday, as it assessed the House bill that would make sweeping changes in the health care system and extend insurance coverage to millions more Americans (The New York Times, 11/8).

Obama Presses Senate To Act Quickly On Its Health Bill
The White House, growing concerned that the Congressional timetable for passing a health care overhaul could slip into next year, is stepping up pressure on the Senate for quick action, with President Obama appearing Sunday in the Rose Garden to call on senators to “take up the baton and bring this effort to the finish line” (The New York Times).

Louisiana Republican Breaks Ranks On Health Bill
House Democrats were thrilled by the passage of their major health care legislation on Saturday, but were particularly tickled by denying Republicans a solid wall of opposition with the solitary vote of Representative Anh Cao of Louisiana (The New York Times).

For Opponents Of Abortion, A Victory In Health Care Vote
restriction on abortion coverage, added late Saturday to the health care bill passed by the House, has energized abortion opponents with their biggest victory in years — emboldening them for a pitched battle in the Senate (The New York Times).

For Healthcare Bill, Pelosi Had To Leave Left Coast Behind
In the final hours before the House approved the most sweeping healthcare legislation in 40 years, Speaker Nancy Pelosi demonstrated that she had the one indispensable quality required to produce a Democratic victory: a split personality (Los Angeles Times).

Healthcare Bill’s Tough Sell In The House Signals Tougher Fight Ahead
With the struggle over healthcare entering an even tougher phase, President Obama has hit both a milestone and a speed bump in his dual pursuit of a major overhaul of the nation’s medical system and a rebirth of progressivism in America (Los Angeles Times).

Abortion An Obstacle To Health-Care Bill
President Obama and Senate Democrats sought on Sunday to generate momentum from the House’s passage of health-care legislation, even as a new hurdle emerged: profound dismay among abortion-rights supporters over antiabortion provisions inserted into the House bill (The Washington Post).

Obama Marks Win, But Challenges Mount
President Obama retreated briefly to the serenity of Camp David this weekend, leaving behind seven days that showcased both the promise and the limits of his presidency (The Washington Post).

Compromise Won Over Democratic Holdouts
Reps. Baron P. Hill (Ind.), elected with the class of 2006 that gave Democrats the House majority, and Dan Maffei (N.Y.), who rode to office with President Obama on a Democratic wave last year, were among the last lawmakers to make up their minds on Saturday’s historic health-care vote (The Washington Post).

Health Bill Faces Senate Heat
President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul faces an uncertain battle in the Senate after a narrow weekend victory in the House revealed the continuing divide among Democrats (The Wall Street Journal).

In Final Hours, An Intense Push For ‘Yes’ Votes
For Rep. Dennis Cardoza, it was an assurance from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the drought afflicting California’s Central Valley would get high-level attention. For Rep. Michael Michaud, a liberal from Maine, it was personal coaxing from President Barack Obama Saturday morning. For Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, the lone Republican vote, it was multiple conversations with Obama administration officials, topped with new promises of support for his Katrina-ravaged New Orleans (The Wall Street Journal).

Obama: ‘Now It Falls On The Senate To ‘Take The Baton’ And Pass Reform
The day after the House passed its version of a health care overhaul, President Barack Obama said he was “absolutely confident” that the Senate will do the same and that they will meet at the White House to sign it into law (The Hill).

Republicans Take Aim At Vulnerable Democrats In Health War
Within minutes of Saturday’s historic House vote on health care reform, Republicans pronounced the political death of Rep. Thomas Perriello (D-Va.), pointing to the vulnerable freshman congressman’s vote in favor of the bill. And in the aftermath of the politically charged vote, Perriello wasn’t the only Democratic congressman whose fortunes were being reassessed. The GOP, which voted nearly in lock step against the measure, began crowing about the demise of various other vulnerable members and seized on the moment as a milestone in the path back to a House majority (Politico).

Tears, Tempers Fly In Nancy Pelosi’s Campaign
One by one, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had leaned on her rank-and-file Democrats for months to cast off personal prerogatives for the sake of a history-making health care bill. But for Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, this was too much to ask. So when Pelosi announced late Friday that she would allow an amendment strictly limiting insurance coverage of abortions, it touched off an angry yelling match between DeLauro and another Pelosi confidant, California Rep. George Miller, and tears from some veteran female lawmakers, according to people in the room (Politico).

All Eyes On Sen. Harry Reid
As health reform shifts back to the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is facing dissent from fellow Democrats worried that he has no final bill, no Democratic consensus on the way ahead and no guarantee he’ll finish by year’s end (Politico).

US House Of Representatives Votes To Approve Healthcare Reform
After a vote that went down to the wire, House Democrats cheered a vast overhaul of the US healthcare system early Sunday morning. In a phone call to House leaders, President Obama called it “a great victory for the American people” (The Christian Science Monitor).

In Senate, Health Bill Has Major Hurdles
The battle over health care shifted back to the Senate as President Obama prodded lawmakers on Sunday to push ahead one day after the House narrowly approved the most sweeping bill of its kind in four decades (USA Today).

Lieberman’s Threat Of Filibuster Looms Large
When a recent conversation among Senate centrists turned to insurance company antitrust concerns, Joe Lieberman boasted of his bona fides: As Connecticut attorney general in the 1980s, he sued the industry (The Boston Globe).

Kaiser Health News also tracked developments over the weekend, with summaries on Saturday’s house vote, abortion compromise, key abortion vote and the President’s visit to Capitol Hill as well as Sunday’s coverage of the landmark vote and the Sunday talk shows.

Sign up to receive this list of First Edition headlines via email. Check out all of Kaiser Health News’ email options including First Edition and Breaking News alerts on our Subscriptions page. 

william was the first of a few of you to send in this story about how Infinity Ward seems to have decided to piss off a bunch of fans of the upcoming Modern Warfare 2 by not allowing dedicated game servers, limiting the number of players for PC-based multiplayer games and other limiting features. In one telling quote, one of the game’s designers was asked about whether or not a certain feature would be enabled to allow players to change their field of view, and was told:

We would like you to play the game the way we designed and balanced it.

Now, that’s fair enough, but if those fans don’t want to play the game that way, they’re not going to play it at all.

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Saturday Chris Baccus posted a link to an old Studebaker commercial on his Twitter account. This old commercial is corn-ball and ever-so-slightly offensive to women, but it also shows what might just be the very first tailgate step ever…installed on a station wagon.

This is just a still photo of the commercial – you can watch the commercial on YouTube here.

Sort of fascinating, isn’t it? Contrast it with some of Ford’s marketing literature.

First, here’s a photo from the Ford website of the tailgate step in action.

Ford brags that the “2010 F-150 features an available class-exclusive integrated Tailgate Step,” and they show lots of images of hard-working truck owners making great use of this option on their website, in brochures, etc. They’re proud of the fact they can advertise this feature – and they should be.

For the record, the tailgate step is a good idea. The execution on the F150 isn’t great (it can be hard to load around), but it’s certainly not bad. Ford’s truck marketing manager said that the feature was selling well back in January in this article on Jalopnik, and a lot of people really like it. Kudos to the engineers at Ford.

The point here is that there aren’t a lot of new ideas in the auto industry. 6-speed transmissions, electric powertrains, dual-overhead cams, superchargers, trucks with coil-spring rear suspensions, and just about everything else you’ll hear a truck salesman brag about has been done before. Most of these features were toyed with 50 to 100 years ago.

The military used nitrous oxide injection in aircraft in world war two. The first all-electric car was built all the way back in 1891 by a tinkerer in Iowa. Gottlieb Daimler (one of the namesakes of Daimler Benz) might have been the first to supercharge an automobile back in 1885.

And Studebaker might just have been the first to invent the tailgate step…or maybe not.

Read user reviews of Tundra Accessories.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Kingfisher Airlines (KING.BO) is in advanced talks with private equity firms to raise $400 million, its chairman said on Monday.

“The current discussions are about… for $400 million,” Vijay Mallya told reporters at the World Economic Forum.

Mallya also said a $100 million rights share issue and a $100 million global depository receipts issue would be completed by the end of the fiscal year. (Reporting by C.J. Kuncheria; Editing by John Mair)

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In June, Epson said it has begun mass-production of the world’s first HTPS-TFT panel boasting WUXGA resolution (1,920 x 1,200 pixels). And today, five months later, the same company announced [press release in English] what it claims is the world’s first 4K-compatible HTPS (high-temperature polysilicon) TFT LCD panel for 3LCD projectors.

The new panel is sized at 1.64 inches diagonally and boasts a resolution of 4,096×2,160, which is nothing less than four times the resolution of a full HD screen. The simple diagram below visualizes the difference between 4K and full HD resolutions.

What this means is that we get high-performance panels for 3LCD projectors, which use chips in every projector. Every one of these three chips produces images (here is a demo movie), that are said to be very bright and richer in color.

The general public will get a chance to view Epson’s new projector at the Inter BEE exhibition that starts next week in Tokyo.

Wow! We received some awesome entries in the Doodle a Caboodle contest. Great job everyone! Here are the ten finalists, and you get to help decide who wins the grand prize, a $100 shopping spree at Puutty Power!

We’re trying out a new voting system. Take a look at the ten finalists below then at the bottom of this post you will see an area where you can cast your vote. Simply select your favorite design and click “Vote”. You’ll only be allowed to vote once. Voting will end at midnight EST on November 11. May the best doodle win!

Thanks to the folks at Caboodle and Puutty Power for sponsoring this awesome contest!

#1 Ginseng’s Black & White Boudoir submitted by Khristian

#2 Modern Swirls submitted by Erinn

#3 Zippy, Sadie & Speedy’s Club House submitted by Donna

#4 Paper Mosaic Masterpiece submitted by Brooke

#5 Regency Style in Black & White submitted by Hollis

#6 Kitty Treehouse submitted by Amy

#7 Mouse House submitted by Jennifer

#8 Summer Leaves submitted by Cathy

#9 Rainbow Castle submitted by Becky

#10 Tutti Frutti submitted by Courtney

Voting is now closed. Congratulations to the Kitty Treehouse for winning the grand prize!

While the RIAA has backed down (but not stopped) lawsuits against those accused of file sharing in the US, it looks like the Danish anti-piracy bureau has decided to drop all of its lawsuits after it became clear that individuals were basically winning them all (Google translation of the original, found via brokep). Basically, the courts acquitted most of the individuals accused of private file sharing, with the one exception being the case where the guy confessed. And, the nature of the rulings in the acquittals made it clear that it was virtually impossible to win a lawsuit against individuals for file sharing. Of course, we have no doubt that the industry will continue to use other means, such as via regulatory capture, to continue to look for ways not to give consumers what they want.

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Now comes the really hard part.

After a brief celebration of House passage of landmark health legislation, House and Senate Democrats and President Barack Obama face weeks, if not months, of difficult negotiations in constructing a final package that will win congressional approval.

Their challenge: Despite months of debate, disputes remain between liberal and moderate Democrats and between the House and the Senate on a raft of core issues. They include how much to spend on an overhaul; how to pay for it; how to deal with a government-run insurance option, and the scope of coverage and subsidies for the uninsured.

One thing is clear: The House-passed bill is almost certainly the high-water mark of liberal aspirations. On most issues, Democrats will likely have to tack to the right to win the support of Senate moderates. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s acquiescence on more-restrictive abortion language showed just how far party leaders are prepared to go to push through the legislation.

The House bill, which would cost $1.1 trillion over a decade, passed late Saturday on a vote of 220 to 215. Like the $829 billion Senate Finance Committee bill, which is likely to be the template for that chamber’s legislation, the House legislation requires, for the first time, that most people have health insurance.

But compared to the Senate Finance bill, the House bill would cover more uninsured (eventually 36 million versus 29 million); offer bigger subsidies for individuals and families to buy coverage on new exchanges, or marketplaces; provide for a bigger Medicaid expansion, and use a markedly different financing scheme for a big chunk of the cost (a tax on wealthy Americans versus a levy on high-cost insurance plans.)

Now, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., cobbles together legislation, he must maintain liberal support while winning over a handful of wavering moderates — including Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut – to rack up the 60 votes needed to thwart a Republican filibuster.

Ultimately, because of the struggle to get those 60 votes, any bill passed by the Senate will enter House-Senate negotiations with a leg up, and perhaps form the foundation of a final Capitol Hill deal. “I don’t see it any other way,” said Nelson.

Forks in the Road

Among the outstanding questions in putting together a House-Senate bill: 

• Will the Democratic leadership try to hold the bill’s price tag to $900 billion over 10 years, as requested by Obama, or adjust the cost up or down to address the sometimes-conflicting demands of the party’s rank and file?
• Will Democrats feel compelled to go with the House’s more ambitious coverage proposals, or endorse the Senate’s more modest ones?
• Will liberal Democrats prevail in including the House version of the public option, or bow to Reid’s idea that states should be allowed to opt out? It’s also possible a final bill would go in another direction, and trigger a public option only under certain conditions.

“They’ve (the House and Senate) really kind of taken two different forks in the road on health reform,” said Republican Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan. “This is very complicated, it’s a long way from being over and many of these provisions are integrated with one another. You can’t just pick and choose off a list and slap it together.”

Chip Kahn, president of the Federation of American Hospitals, predicted the House and Senate eventually would reach agreement, but added, “I have trouble visualizing what it will look like.”

“The entire revenue structure of both bills is different,” he said. “The way they approach Medicare Advantage is different, and that has a lot of regional implications…There are a lot of substantive differences.” Medicare Advantage is the part of Medicare where private insurers provide benefits to seniors.

Some political observers say recent Republican victories in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections might make it more difficult for moderate-to-conservative Democrats from swing states to back ambitious health care legislation.

Feeling Conflicted

But at the same time, some senators admit to feeling conflicted about the size of the bill. While they want to contain overall spending, they also want to make sure that low- and middle-income constituents will be able to afford the mandatory insurance.

“Affordability is important, very important,” said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. “We have to balance what’s the total cost of the bill, number one, then…keep premium costs low, keep out-of-pocket costs low and coverage high…It depends at least in a significant part on the total cost of the bill.”

Drew Altman, president and chief executive officer of the Kaiser Family Foundation, predicted there would be renewed attention to the affordability issue as the legislative process moves ahead. “What will be the deal for middle-class voters – which is always politically sensitive – who have to buy insurance in the exchange?” he said.

Concerns about that question, he added, are “going to create some upward pressure” on the cost of the legislation. “Policy makers have been in the unenviable position of having to struggle with the tradeoff between the cost of the legislation and the generosity of both the subsidy and the adequacy of the underlying [insurance] coverage.” KHN is a part of the foundation.)

Key Differences 

Here are some key differences between the main bills pending in Congress:

The Price Tag: With an overall cost of $1.1 trillion over the next decade, the House-passed bill is more expensive than either the legislation approved by Senate Finance or by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Some health care analysts and lawmakers say a final House-Senate conference package would have to come closer to the $829 billion Finance bill to survive a final vote in the Senate. In a speech to a joint session of Congress in September, Obama “said first, he wanted a bipartisan bill. Second, he wanted a $900 billion bill or at about that level,” Baucus said. “That level is important.”

How to Pay for the Bill: The House bill would impose a 5.4 percent income surtax on individuals earning more than $500,000 and couples earning more than $1 million. That idea is unpopular in the Senate. The Finance plan, meanwhile, would slap a $6.7 billion annual fee on health insurers, based on their market share, and place a 40 percent excise tax on the highest-cost health insurance plans—a move economists say could help curb demand for such plans and for overused health services. That proposal has been rejected by House Democrats because of vociferous opposition from labor unions, which argue many workers made wage concessions in order to obtain or keep their health care coverage.

The bottom line: Democrats “are on different planets when it comes to payfors,” said Camp.

The Public Plan: While House progressives pushed for a robust public plan with payments tied to Medicare rates, party members from rural areas balked, saying their doctors and hospitals already are underpaid by Medicare and wouldn’t survive. The upshot: The House included a public plan that calls on the government to negotiate rates with health care providers.

The Finance bill doesn’t include a public plan of any sort, but Reid has said he would include one in any Senate measure, and give states the right to opt out if they didn’t want to take part. But ultimately, some analysts say, the Senate might take another route, approving a proposal touted by Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine that would create a public plan only in states where affordable private insurance wasn’t available to 95% of a state’s residents. Progressives in both chambers will push back hard against that approach, but might have to live with it to get legislation to Obama’s desk.

Coverage and Subsidies: Both the House and Senate Finance bills would require most people to have insurance. And both would provide subsidies to buy coverage to people with incomes of up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $88,000 for a family of four. But they would do it in different ways.

For example, under the House Democrats’ plan, a family of four earning $54,000 a year would pay $6,200 or 11 percent of their income on premiums and out-of-pocket costs, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation. Under the Finance bill, that same family would pay $9,900 or 18 percent of income. As income levels increase the subsidy levels of the bills become more similar. For a family of four with income of $90,100, both bills would require the family to spend $16,600 or 18 percent of their income.

In another difference, the Finance Committee’s penalties for individuals who don’t carry coverage are weaker than those in the Senate health or House bills. Health insurers fear that would mean that some people would wait to buy health insurance until they got sick, driving up costs and premiums.

My first reaction – when I saw today on Thanko’s web site that the notoriously silly gadget maker from Tokyo is selling USB-powered gloves with built-in heaters [JP] – was: Who actually buys this kind of stuff? I mean Thanko is a real company, they have brick-and-mortar stores in Tokyo (two of them), they have employees etc. But they have been surviving for years now, even though they closed their English online store last month.

You can connect the gloves (black is for men, white is for women) to your computer’s USB port and expect them to keep your fingers warm while you type. Again: Who in god’s name would do that? And it’s not even Thanko’s only USB gloves, they have models that are shaped like teddy bears, too.

People living outside Japan can order the new USB gloves for $27.75 per pair plus shipping over at Geek Stuff 4 U.

Health policy experts hold different views on Saturday’s House overhaul vote. Here are their responses.

Jonathan Cohn: The House Bill Is A Great Start


The House health overhaul bill is a great start. It should just be faster, stronger and–really–bigger.

 

Doug Holtz-Eakin: The House Bill Could Have Been Avoided


With the right leadership, a bi-partisan merger of the Republican alternative and the coverage expansions in the bill itself could have been augmented with real delivery system reforms.

 

Robert Laszewski: Loading More People Onto the Titanic


Neither fiscal conservatives nor liberals are left with much reason to believe the House-passed bill has much chance of bending any cost curves.

 

Karen Pollitz: From Now On, We’re All In It Together


The House vote signals that we may be ready to listen to our better angels, and include all Americans in our coverage system.

Homebrew coder Iain Price has released the final build of his homebrew game HaloDS / Renegade project. According to the dev, the game is still on it’…